Riuko: Sorry the last one was short, this one will be too, but the next one will be longer, I promise.

Caress: Ha, you say that a lot.

Riuko: I'm serious! This chapter and the next few chapters are very important! Also, in this chapter, Caress turns twenty-two! Train's twenty-four now. I hope you people know that considering book 20 said "One Year Later…"

Caress: Ha, he's getting old.

Train: If I'm getting old then so are you.

Caress: What happened to that whole "age difference" speech you gave last chapter? Huh smart one?

Train: Why you… *Train and Caress start fighting*

Riuko: *sighs* Please enjoy the chapter.

Caress POV

And so another three and a half weeks passed and the date of my spreading and my birthday were close at hand. After all, they were the same day. Suckish birthday, I know. It's been this way since the day I was born. Anyways, this time, I wasn't really all that worried. Eve was coming with me so she could take care of me when I turned human and most was right with the world. Well, my world at least.

"Remember, be quiet," I whispered to Eve as we prepared to sneak out. "If we wake the boys up, then I'll end up spreading here and that means a lot of cleaning up." Eve merely nodded. "Alright, down we go," I said as I leapt out of the fifth story window of the hotel we were staying in. At the bottom, I motioned for Eve to follow me and in the blink of an eye, she was next to me. "You're improving. C'mon." Then we ran off into the trees.

In a small clearing, I sat down against a tree, exhausted from hiding the pain that was enveloping my back.

"Are you alright Onee-san?" Eve asked as I put a hand over my shoulder blade.

"Define alri-AH!" The first wing had ripped out of my back, growing feathers as it did so. The second one followed suit. The bloody feathers swirled around me, changing my clothes into an angel's gown as tears ran down my face from the pain. "This is as alright as I get," I seethed.

Eve POV

I'd seen pictures, read stories, and even tried to be an angel myself, but seeing a real angel was… it put everything I knew to shame. Although the wings were soaked in blood, they still held a pure white radiance to them, and Caress looked… beautiful. On each of her ears was a rose earring and on her neck was a velvet red chocker adorning a single crimson rose. The neck of her strapless dress bore one large rose in the center and was decorated with much smaller roses all around. Two red, velvety ribbons wrapped around the area of the dress that hid her legs and waist, but what really caught my attention were her tears.

"This is as alright as I get," she said between clenched teeth, trying to push back the pain.

"Do you need something Onee-san?" I asked. She shook her head.

"No, I've always gotten through, it just takes a little time is all," she replied. Blood ran in rivers down her back, soaking the grass and the tree she leaned against. The fact she could even talk surprised me.

Suddenly, one of her wings came up and wrapped around me as she stood up. I heard her cry out in pain as I saw blood seep through the feathers.

"Onee-san!"

"Eve, run," she whispered to me.

"What?" There was no way I was leaving her in this state.

"You have to run, Thorned Rose is here," she replied. "She's a Rumor level assassin for Rumors. There are only a handful of them, one of them was me. You can't take them Eve. I'll be fine."

"What's this made a new friend," asked a woman's voice. Caress unwrapped the wing from around me and moved in front of me.

"Leave her alone Rose," Caress said. "She's none of your concern."

"What'll you do if I do hurt her? Love me to death? You're useless in this form and you know it!" The woman snapped. "You can't even hurt a fly as an angel." Caress looked away. "You can't even make any threats. Now come with ME!" At that last word, the woman shot a thorned vine at Caress and wrapped in around her tightly, the thorns digging into her flesh.

"Eve, please… run," Caress whispered before the woman dragged her over. Now that I had a clear view of her, I could see what she looked like. Her hair was a lush green and tucked behind her ear was the stem of an iris. Her eyes were a soft baby blue and her arm, that's where the vine had come from. Was she a Taoist? That couldn't be, could it?

"It's too bad you're unable to sleep in this form, otherwise, you'd have passed out by now," the woman hissed. "And I suppose I'll have to take care of her too now." Then the woman looked at me.

"Leave her alone Rose! You're after me right? Well you got me! Just leave Eve alone!"

"Aw don't worry, she'll be taken good care of," hissed a man as he appeared from the shadows.

"This is my catch Chains, go away," Rose hissed at the gray-haired man.

"I'm here because End-sama is watching and he thinks you might be in a pinch," the man replied.

"If it's under orders from him then fine," Rose snarled, "but I get the credit for bringing her back."

"You will Rose, don't worry." The last thing I remember was being choked until I was out cold by a cold metal chain.

Riuko: Like I said, it's short but so very important. Please R&R. The next chapter is going to be a lot longer. It's crucial to the story line. Also, the next chapter might not be out for a while. I don't have a lot of patience and my brain's been a blank lately.

Train: I wasn't even in this one!

Riuko: Shut it, you're very important in the next chapter. And remember, flame and I'll cry, not write and my friends will yell the crap out of you.

Caress: In short, don't flame her. It'll make many people's lives a lot less hectic.